Friday, January 15, 2016

COMPETITION MONTHLY

It’s time again for the Competition Monthly with
Francesca Burgess

With the deadline
for the Choc Lit 2016 Search for a Star Competition only a couple of months
away, this month I'm interviewing author Lynda Stacey, winner of last year's
competition with her novel, Keeper of the
House.

Lynda's ambition
to be an author dates back to when she was fourteen. Her English teacher
advised her to go into journalism or writing. However, having left school in
1984 during the miners' strike, she had to find work, and her dreams of writing
a book took a back seat.

Hello Lynda. What inspired you
to enter the Choc Lit Search for a Star competition? Was there any doubt in
your mind about it?

Thank you so much for inviting
me onto the blog. I’d always been a big fan of Choc Lit and in 2014 I got the opportunity
to have a 1:1 with Lyn Vernham at the RNA Conference. The meeting went well and
Lyn asked me to submit a full manuscript for the first book I’d written, Broken Jigsaw. Choc Lit were encouraging
and more than supportive, however the novel didn’t get through the panel
process that Choc Lit use. I was disappointed, but I had no doubt that it was
Choc Lit that I wanted to be published with. So, I wrote a new novel, called Keeper of the House and decided to
submit it into the Choc Lit Search for a Star competition.

What did you have to submit for the competition, and what did you
find the hardest?

I first had to fill in the
application form, found on the Choc Lit Website. Once completed, you wait for
Choc Lit to contact you and ask for the manuscript. I then emailed it and
waited. I always find waiting the most difficult. I’m a Sales Director for a
stationery and office supplies company and often have to make decisions within
ten minutes, so waiting months for publishers to get back to me is painful.

Was Keeper of the House the first novel you'd
written? How long did it take you?

Keeper of the House is the
second novel I’ve written and if I’m honest, I’d probably say it takes me
around a year. I work full time and have a family.

Had your novel been in any other competitions or considered by
other publishers?

Yes. The book was considered
by a couple of other publishers. However, Choc Lit would have always been my
first choice. They’re a real family, very supportive.

How did you hear about your win?

I heard about my shortlisting
initially via a skype call with Lyn Vernham. She then sent me an email on the
day of the announcement.

What tips would you give to those entering novel competitions?

Get a professional critique of
your work. Jane Lovering did mine and I must say, she was amazing and very
reasonable.

Tell us something about the book

Keeper of the House is a parallel time
frame story and has been described as Fatal Attraction meets Lady Chatterley’s
Lover.

Thank you for taking the time out to speak
to us, Lynda.

Keeper
of the House will be published by Choc
Lit around April or May.

The deadline for this year's Choc Lit Search for a
Star Competition is 31st March and can be found here

Francesca
Burgesshasbeen placed or shortlisted in a number of competitions including Twyford
Writers, Winchester Writers' Conference, Chorley and District Writers' Circle,
Flash a Famous Phrase, Meridian Writing, People's Friend and those run by Writers'
Newsand Writing Magazine. She's had stories published in magazines worldwide
and in three anthologies, includingDiamonds and Pearls. She's
been a member of the RNA New Writers' Scheme for five years.

Thank
you, Francesca!

Don’t
forget to let us know about your competition successes plus any comps you are
organising.

The RNA blog is
brought to you by Elaine Everest &
Natalie Kleinman

If you’d like to
write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

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Romantic Novelists' Association

We work to enhance and promote the various types of romantic and historical fiction, to encourage good writing in all its many varieties, to learn more about our craft and help readers enjoy it.

Romantic Fiction covers an enormous range, from short stories through category romance and much of women's fiction, to the classics. The nature of romantic fiction means that most of these novels are written and read by women. The RNA, however, boasts a number of very successful male authors amongst their membership.